Scholarships Are Worth It
Does money really make the world go around, because I was under the belief it circled on its rotational axis at a 23.5 degree angle from vertical at 1000 miles per hour with no monetary influence, but that’s just me. Others have theorized that money actually makes the world go down like the Dow on black Tuesday. So which is it? Does it make the world go down or around? I guess it all depends on your vantage point and wallet size. The bigger your wallet, the greater your chance of motion sickness when money is moving fast beyond your control.
My goal is simple; find a way to beef up that wallet of yours devoid of any dizzy spells. The number one way to turn your paper thin wallet into a certified Jenny Craig candidate is to borrow someone else’s money! Scholarships provide the perfect gateway for students to obtain money at with no interest or need to repay. In fact scholarships can be freely given in return for having great marks in school or perhaps doing well in sports. These in fact are not loans, but money given to you to help you make it through school without incurring a lot of debt.
You would be astounded at the number of scholarships you actually qualify for, and you don’t need to be on the Deans list to qualify either. I can not possibly stress enough that you need to take the time to look to see what is out there. I’ve even created a top 5 list to help streamline your search. Obtaining a scholarship can mean the difference in going to college or not and it can make a huge difference in your financial situation.
I get calls from desperate college graduates all the time who inform me they are in over their head with their student installment loan payments. And as sure as the sun rises in the east I’ll be fielding calls once again this May from despairing students who just graduated looking for advice, but at that point the damage is already done. The point of this blog is to put you in front of the 8-ball instead of behind it. At the same time that you are registering at a given college, start looking for scholarships and apply to get on the list. Get started early and you may find that you will not need to borrow nearly as much money as you once thought.
Being proactive about the cost of your college education opposed to reactive can save you thousands of dollars and a whole lot of stress in the long run. And I promise it won’t be long before you’re spinning around the sun with your Ray-Ban sunglasses and calling Jenny Craig to let her know that big is beautiful. Student installment loan debt is the only thing you need to lose.
One of the most difficult things for many students is finding enough money to help them pay for everything they need to pay for while they are going to school. Let’s face it if they can reduce this expense by any amount, it means they owe less when they graduate and they will even have a better credit rating as well. With lower payments to make after graduation and a better credit rating, loans for a new car or even a used car are easier to obtain, along with personal loans to purchase furniture etc to set up closer to where you work.
A scholarship can make all of the difference for students. Scholarships are all different and cover different amounts of money as well as different things. A full scholarship is the ultimate which essentially pays for all of your expenses while attending school. This includes your tuition, your books, other expenses associated with attending college, rental costs, and even groceries within reason. These are the ultimate for a student to obtain. Other scholarships may pay for all tuition and books and some will be for a fixed monetary amount that can be used for any purpose.
Students should also note that while scholarships are really great, there are often performance requirements tied to these scholarships. For example some scholarships require specific grade levels to be maintained, attendance records etc. If this is a sports scholarship, participation in a given sport and being able to maintain performance in both school as well as whatever sports teams will be required.
Scholarships are really great and can help a student financially. For some it will mean the difference between attending college and never going to college at all. Still, all students should review the fine print and be well aware of the requirements to maintain your scholarship standing. Quitting mid way through a term could even mean that you must repay the scholarship award if the conditions are that you must complete a term with a minimum grade level.
Take the time to read the details about all scholarships, ask questions if you are not clear on the requirements and talk to other students if there are any concerns that you may have.